Brave New World, the third offering by the still-new Steve Miller Band, was released in 1969. Can't you tell? References to celebrations and tripping abound, making this one of the sunniest, trippiest album of the psychedelic era. (Even the album cover is sunny yellow!) The opening of the title track (and the album) is a blast - literally, a bomb blast which hearalds the start of both a fresh, enjoyable tune and a bright new beginning for the world at large. Then, great drumming by Tim Davis kickstarts "Celebration Song," another wonderful vision of a world at play. "Got Love 'Cause You Need It" sounds like it's sung by Miller's infamous Gangster of Love character, full of danger and seduction, while "Seasons" is a gorgeous acoustic ballad, as heartfelt a track as Stevie Guitar has ever recorded. Nice! "Space Cowboy," of course, is the albums BIG HIT, complete with Moog synthesizer space sounds, and a rare, excellent guitar solo from Steve M! (The primary focus of Brave New World is on the material, not solos.) Literally too, too far out! "LT's Midnight Dream" is a fantasy feast, with lyrics like "got a bulldog in my learjet, gonna teach him how to fly"! Too much! Paul McCartney of the Beatles contributes drums, bass, and vocals to the blues-rock "My Dark Hour," (he is billed as Paul Ramon; yes, that is where the band The Ramones got their name!), while "Can't You Hear Your Daddy's Heartbeat?" is a love song in double-quick time and "Kow Kow" (also known as "Kow Kow Calqulator" on the anthologies) combines more fantasy lyrics with quotes from Bobby Blue Bland's "Turn on your Love Light". Outasite!! So, if your looking for something of Steve Miller's beyond the usual, well-crafted 70's material, give Brave New World a listen or two. You may want to start your own celebration!!! (By chris meesey Food Czar)
Tracklist
01 Brave New World (Steve Miller) – 3:27
02 Celebration Song (Miller, Ben Sidran) – 2:33
03 Can't You Hear Your Daddy's Heartbeat (Tim Davis) – 2:30
04 Got Love 'Cause You Need It (Miller, Sidran) – 2:28
05 Kow Kow (Miller) – 4:28
06 Seasons (Miller, Sidran) – 3:50
07 Space Cowboy (Miller, Sidran) – 4:55
08 LT's Midnight Dream (Lonnie Turner) – 2:33
09 My Dark Hour (Miller) – 3:07
Credits
Steve Miller – guitar, harmonica, lead vocals
Glyn Johns – guitar, percussion, backing vocals
Lonnie Turner – bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals
Ben Sidran – keyboards
Tim Davis – drums, lead vocals on "Can You Hear Your Daddy's Heartbeat?" & "LT's Midnight Dream".
Nicky Hopkins – piano on "Kow Kow"
Paul McCartney (as "Paul Ramon") – drums, bass guitar, backing vocals, on "My Dark Hour"
Your Saving Grace is a much more earthy collection of tunes when compared to the band's previous three long-players. While there are distinct psychedelic remnants of the Boz Scaggs (guitar/vocals) and Jim Peterman (keyboards) era, the addition of keyboardists Ben Sidran and Nicky Hopkins -- which began on the Steve Miller Band's previous effort, Brave New World -- adds a jazzier facet to this second incarnation of the group. Harking back to the band's blues roots, Your Saving Grace includes a couple of distinct blues originals -- such as the up-tempo and gospel-doused "Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around" and a somewhat uninspired arrangement of "Motherless Children," which sounds more synchronous with the Sailor or Brave New World albums. The funky "Little Girl," the elegantly pensive "Baby's House," and the title track -- which is oddly programmed as the LP's final cut -- are among the highlights of this disc. Once again, the production is handled by Glyn Johns, whose contributions here are more subdued, yet no less noticeable. This is especially true of Miller's crystalline slide guitar licks on Lonnie Turner's cryptically titled "The Last Wombat in Mecca." The same upfront clean sound holds true on the laid-back and bluesy "Feel So Glad" -- which is punctuated by some inspired and unmistakable ivory tickling by studio wunderkind Nicky Hopkins. Although the album is not as thoroughly solid as earlier efforts, Your Saving Grace and the follow-up, Number 5, are definite bridges between the early trippy montages prevalent on Children of the Future and the direction that Miller would take on his much more successful mid-'70s discs.(By Lindsay Planer)
Tracklist
01. Little Girl (Steve Miller) - 3:20
02. Just A Passin' Fancy In A Midnite Dream (Miller/Ben Sidran) - 3:37
03. Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around (Miller) - 2:26
04. Baby's House (Miller/Nicky Hopkins) - 8:48
05. Motherless Children (Trad. arr. Miller) - 6:01
06. The Last Wombat In Mecca (Lonnie Turner) - 2:54
07. Feel So Glad (Miller) - 5:19
08. Your Saving Grace (Tim Davis) - 4:46
Personnel:
Steve Miller - guitar, harmonica, synthesizer, vocals
Lonnie Turner - bass, guitar, vocals
Ben Sidran - organ
Nicky Hopkins - piano, harpsichord, organ
Tim Davis - drums, electronics, vocals
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Glyn Johns - producer, tambourine, electronics, vocals
Barnes Ensemble - vocals (horus) on 4
Minor Wilson - guitar on 7
Curley Cooke - guitar on 8
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